As an entrepreneur, you’ve invested both time and money into starting your new Philadelphia-based business. Be sure that your investment is protected through trademark registration. A federally registered trademark will:

• Ensure that you won’t copy another brand’s mark.

• Establish your brand image and build customer loyalty.

• Protect against copycats and maintain control of your brand.

• Prevent cybersquatting.

• Allow you to use the ® symbol.

What is a Trademark?

A trademark can be anything that shows that your product or service is associated with your brand. Entrepreneurs commonly register business or product names, logos, and slogans as trademarks. However, even sounds, colors, and smells could be protected through trademark registration, if they represent your brand. Other forms of intellectual property include copyrights, which protect creative works, and patents, which protect new and novel inventions. 

Reasons to Register a Trademark as an Entrepreneur

As a Philly entrepreneur, it’s important to file a federally registered trademark. Keep reading to find out how a trademark can help your business.

Ensure You Don’t Copy Another Mark

If you infringe on another business’s mark, either knowingly or unknowingly, you are likely to face costly and time-consuming rebranding efforts, as well as potential legal proceedings. Fortunately, obtaining a federally registered trademark means that you will not find yourself in this position. 

The process to register a trademark (detailed steps can be found here) begins with a comprehensive trademark search, which will alert you to any existing trademarks that could cause a likelihood of confusion in the marketplace. If you find potential conflicting marks during the course of the search, you will need to make changes to the mark before submitting your application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO. Once your application is submitted to the USPTO, an examiner will conduct another search to ensure your mark will not infringe upon the trademark of another business. If no confusingly similar marks are found, your registration will likely be approved by the USPTO, and you can move forward in confidence that you will not be infringing on another brand. 

Establish Brand Image and Brand Loyalty

Developing a great product will allow entrepreneurs to see success early on, but in order to maintain that success and build on it, a strong brand is essential. The right trademark can help to create and establish your brand. Whether it’s a memorable business name, an eye-catching logo, or a recognizable signature color, your trademark should immediately indicate that your product or service is associated with your brand. In the early days of your new venture, your trademark could serve as a form of advertising for your business and set the stage for customer loyalty. Then, when you begin to add new products or offer new services under the same trademark, loyal customers will know to expect the same quality and reputation they’ve grown to love.

Protect Against Copycats

Maintaining control of your brand is an essential part of its future success, and in order to maintain control, you must be protected from infringement by other businesses. Some of these protections will start as soon as you submit your application to the USPTO. The date you submit your application will become your priority date. Anyone looking to file a confusingly similar mark after that date will not be approved by the USPTO. Once your trademark has been approved for registration, you will have the presumption of validity nationwide, which means your mark is protected from infringement, not just in Philadelphia, but across the country. If anyone uses your mark without authorization, you will have the right to take legal action against them. 

Prevent Cybersquatting

In today’s digital economy, many Philly-based brands are not confined to brick-and-mortar storefronts. A business website serves many functions, from sales to scheduling, and even advertising. Because of this, it’s important for customers to be able to locate your website easily, with a domain name that is associated with your trademark. So, what do you do if your domain name is already taken?

In many cases, another business may have a similar registered trademark, which would allow them the right to use the domain name you preferred. In other instances, however, you could find yourself a victim of cybersquatting, which involves registering, selling, or using a domain name with the intent to profit from another brand’s trademark. Often, cybersquatters purchase a domain name with the sole purpose of ransoming it to its rightful owner in the future, while others hope to direct your customers to their sites to purchase their similar products. Fortunately, federally registered trademark owners are protected from cybersquatters. The Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, or ACPA, was enacted in 1999, and it allows trademark owners to sue alleged cybersquatters for the right to the domain. Without a registered trademark, entrepreneurs would have little legal recourse against cybersquatters.

Use the ® Symbol

Once your trademark application has been approved, you are free to use the ® symbol. Prior to obtaining your registration, you can use the ™ symbol. Include ® anywhere your trademark can be seen, from product labeling to marketing materials, signage, and websites. Use of this symbol will provide public notice of your trademark registration to competitors, which is enough to deter most business owners from using the mark themselves. Displaying ® on your products also provides an additional layer of professional validity for your customers to recognize.

The Benefits of Trademark Registration for Your Philly Business

Whether you plan to open a pizzeria near Logan Square or develop a fashion line to sell nationwide, your business plan should start with trademark registration. With trademark ownership, your Philadelphia based business will be protected from potential infringement, and it will ensure you won’t unknowingly infringe on another business. You’ll also have anti-cybersquatting protections, which will allow your business to create and maintain a successful website. Your registered trademark will serve as brand recognition, in Philadelphia and across the country, as you begin to build a loyal customer base. These benefits, in conjunction with the use of the ® symbol, will provide protection and validity to your brand now and well into the future.